Christmas 2014
After all the constant unhappiness that had occurred this year, the Harpers are not so sure about Christmas, but the resourceful Dylan helps the family break free of the sadness and get ready to celebrate the holidays. Scene Louisburg Square. The townhouses all over the square are all getting ready for the holidays. All the lights and trees are cheerful and shining a cozy light through the windows of the houses along this, one of the oldest and most exclusive neighborhoods in the city. However, while watching the children playing in the snow, as it gently falls in the square, Sheila Watkins is not happy. There has been way too much tragedy in the family of late, and she felt it was not over yet. Dylan comes out and sees his cousin. DYLAN: Hey, dear, what are you doing? SHEILA: Had to look outside at the tree. The tree in the park looks beautiful. DYLAN: Yeah, it should. (He grins) We put out enough money to help get it set up. SHEILA: I remember the fun that Angela and Andrew Steinberg did to get the star up on the tree. DYLAN: Yeah, true on that one, but I know you well enough. Something is bothering you, Sheila, isn't it? SHEILA (tears falling down her cheek): Yeah, it is. I am missing Uncle Mike. He was the main one rallying the entire neighborhood to get a tree set up in the Square. He ran this place. DYLAN: Not really, honey. We ALL did. But I know what you mean. I miss Dad too. It's so hard to think of him and Hannah not being here. Dad always loved Christmas. I know it's hard for you and me, but think about what your mom is going through. Dad was her twin. She's sure to feel it harder than we will. Yeah, we're the kids of fraternal twins, but your mom and my dad were connected and were close. SHEILA: Sometimes, I wonder how we deal with it. Mom took your dad's death hard. But you've been through the mill, not just with your dad, but your sister dying. Why you're not in the bed from it, it speaks of how strong you've become. DYLAN: Sheila, honey, we forge on because he have to. We have people who depend on us. Your husband; my husband; our kids. They depend on us. I know it's hard for us. We have a lot of people who need us. I grieve, and believe me, I grieve. Adam knows it, and he's been awesome through it all. SHEILA: So has Allen. I am wondering how we are going to handle Christmas. DYLAN (with that Harper determination): You know what? We're going to handle it as we always have. Yes, Dad and Hannah are gone, but you know what? They would not want us to mope! Christmas is a happy time, and we need to forge on. SHEILA (smiling): You're right, Dyl. We have to forge on. DYLAN: The Harper family credo. We've always lived by that, and we have to do so now, especially now. SHEILA: What have we planned? DYLAN: We've got plans for the holidays at the Atchley Mansion. Aunt Samantha has insisted that we have the celebration there. Craig is looking forward to it, and so is Maggie. SHEILA (resolute): So we cannot deny Maggie. DYLAN (smiling back): Nope. Not my niece. We're gonna buck up, all of us, and get ourselves on track as we can. SHEILA: So, we begin? DYLAN (giggling): Yep. Aunt Velda has recruited everyone to help with the tree at the Atchleys. So we have to get on with it. (Dylan and Sheila hug one another, both of them giggling over a silly joke.) Cut to: the main foyer of the Atchley home. Angela and Craig are leading the cause and are supervising the setting up of the tree. Gina Bellesario is helping with the garland from the top end of the stairs; while newcomer Julia Dannon, Sheila's cousin by marriage (her aunts are Wendy and Vivienne) is busy handing ornaments to the kids, who are helping, in their own way, in decorating. Velda is helping Derek put his ornament on the tree. Ashley is getting help from her aunt Anyssa. Everyone is having a good time, drinking egg nog, and enjoying the spectacle. CRAIG: Looks good everyone. ANGELA: Yes, it is. MAGGIE: I love the star. I always have loved that star. It was Mummy's favorite. Mummy got it when she and Uncle Dylan lived in London. CATHERINE: Yes, it was, Maggie. I always loved it too. (Sheila grins wistfully as her daughter hugs Maggie) SHEILA: Remember when Hannah got that star for the tree, Dyl? DYLAN (smiling at the memory): Oh, boy, do I ever remember that! We were in London at the time. Hannah was staying with me at my house in Belgravia. We went over to Harrods and she saw this absolutely beautiful star. She simply had to have it, and I agree. We hung it up that night, a couple of days before Christmas, and she, Alex and I had some egg nog and we toasted our lives and us being together. That star is a testament to the strength of this family. Our ornaments are the same way, you know? CRAIG: How so? (Along come Angela and Andrew Steinberg, a brother and sister duo who were a doctor and a lawyer respectively) DYLAN: In much the same way as the ornaments reflect light or dark. We are strong or weak. We have managed, because of one thing we share. ANGELA S.: What is it that you all share? DYLAN: The strength. That inborn strength that we all have. It is in variable portions; some have more than others. When I was younger, I did not think that I had that strength, because I had always had strength all around me. But when Derek and Ashley came into the picture, I had to tap into a well of strength that I never thought I had. I had to get that strength, especially after Dad and Hannah died the way they did. I learned from a lot of people, and I had to grow up really fast. It was scary, but it had to be done. ANDREW: I had heard about what happened to your family, it's terrible what you went through. DYLAN: It was, but we have people who depend on us, Andrew. And because of that, we have to not give up on living. VELDA: You're right, my darling. We're a strong family and we forge on, because we have to. ANYSSA: I got some news today. SHEILA: What news, Nyssa? ANYSSA: I talked with Susie. She and Ellen are talking of coming for Christmas, and so are Sam and Lahoma. I cannot wait to see them again. DYLAN: That is wonderful, honey. I know how much they mean to you. They are your family, you know. (Cara and Joanna come up to the family) JOANNA: I have a special ornament that I want to hang. Cara has one as well. CARA: It's something we had from our own Christmases when we were little. (The sisters hang some very interesting ornaments on the tree. Ashley is perplexed; but Ellie sees their beauty.) ASHLEY: They're pretty, Aunt Joanna. JOANNA: Yes, they are, honey. ELLIE (shyly): Did you make them yourselves, Aunt Cara? CARA: Yes we did, honey. Your Aunt Joanna and I made them when we were your age. JOANNA: And we kept them ever since. PATRICIA: They are beautiful, Cara. I remember some of the ornaments that the children made when they were in school. ROGER: Hey, Mom, do you remember those ornaments that Dyl and I made at that art class we went to when he visited us some years ago? DYLAN (astonished): You still kept them, Rog? ROGER (grinning): I did keep them, my dear cousin. (Roger hangs a couple of Styrofoam balls on the tree. One was decorated with teddy bears, that one was Dylan's; while the other, decorated with palm trees, were Roger's.) ASHLEY (thunderstruck): Did you and Daddy make those, Unca Roger? ROGER: Yes, sweetie, we did. (Derek comes up) DEREK: Which one is your's Unca Roger? ROGER: Mine is the one with the palm trees, buddy. Your daddy's had teddy bears on his. ASHLEY: Daddy's ornament is cute. DYLAN (surprised and very pleased): Rog! Where did you have them? ROGER: I kept them in one of my boxes for a while, even after we grew up. I had come across them when I was cleaning my closet, and I thought it would be perfect. DYLAN: Thank you, Rog. I despaired that they were lost for good. SHEILA: Hey Rog, I was wondering, where's Matt? I thought you two were joined at the hip? PATRICIA: Yes, where is he, honey? (Roger is quiet. Caitlyn comes up to her brother) CAITLYN: Is everything all right, Rog? ROGER (quietly): No, everything is not all right, Caitlyn. Matt left me last night. He won't be coming back......ever. (The crowd is silenced. Dylan goes to his cousin, and puts his arms around him.) CAITLYN: When did he do that? ROGER (holding fast to his favorite cousin): Last night, sis. He packed up everything, bag and baggage, and he moved out of the apartment. He broke the lease and nearly got me evicted. DYLAN: Oh my God! Where are you staying now, Rog? ROGER: I have no idea. I can't stay with Mom, her place isn't big enough, and I certainly can't stay with Caitlyn. ADAM: You don't worry about that one, Rog. We have a place for you. ROGER: I appreciate that, Adam, more than you know, but isn't the house crowded enough, with you, Allen, Dyl, Sheila, Shawn, Audra, Libby, Aunt Wendy; and Derick? ADAM: Far from it. We've got rooms aplenty! And we do for family, Rog. You are our family. ROGER: Thanks, you guys. (The family gathers and they continue in their decorating the tree. The scene fades) Category:Episodes Category:Hall of Fame Episodes Category:Episodes featuring Dylan and Sheila Category:Episodes featuring Anyssa and Susannah